Let’s not belabor the point. Penn State played an FCS team, a good one mind you, but an FCS team nonetheless, and did what top teams are supposed to do to FCS teams. The Lions shut Villanova out for 59 minutes and 56 seconds, and the Wildcats, on an insane throw and grab, got themselves on the board in the closing four seconds of the game. That’s about as eventful as this game was —unless you’re a gambler, in which case you probably lost 10 years of your life in the final minute.
What this game, and
the past three weeks showed, however, is where out expectations of this offense should be. The Nittany Lions did what they needed to do, and, until proven otherwise, that’s enough.
Villanova played Penn State four years ago, in 2021. They were just as feisty then, refusing to go down without a fight, ultimately making that contest closer than any of us felt comfortable with. A few years later, the same team, ranked in the top 10 of the FCS just like they were four years ago, only managed to put points on the board until the closing seconds of the game. That’s as clear an indicator of where Penn State is today and hopefully where they’re headed.
Stats and Storylines
Almost… – Penn State came this close to getting two consecutive shutouts for the first time since 1996. There’s still UCLA and Northwestern!
58% – The broadcast crew pointed something out during one of their scheduled sections, which is Drew Allar’s 58 percent completion rate would normally be alarming for a top quarterback, but, because of the nature of Andy Kotelnicki’s offense, you’re going to miss a lot more shots because you’re actually taking them. They contrasted Dante Moore’s completion percentage with the kinds of throws he’s making in his offense. Let’s hope their evaluation is right.
Was that a wrinkle? – Whether it was something to put on tape, or a new factor of the offense, Penn State employed several wide receiver sweeps in this contest, all of which had varying levels of success, but success nonetheless.
Speaking of Oregon – Northwestern ran for 194 sack-adjusted yards. Let’s hope it’s an omen.
